MANGO CHUTNEY DRUMSTICKS

Leg or breast? Leg definitely. I am no fan of chicken breast. I know that the breast meat is the most popular though the most expensive part of the chicken. Even though the best chickens have tasty breast meat, I still do not usually cook chicken breast unless it is still attached to the rest of the chicken body.

BEST EVER FRUITCAKE

There is a long running joke about just the one fruit cake making the rounds at Christmas, it being passed around like a hot potato. For the benefit of fruit cake lovers, I would like to debunk the myth. First of all, most fruit cake recipes make at least two loaves because of the amount of ingredients involved in making it. So if the joke were true, there should at least be two fruit cakes going around. Corniness aside, there are a lot of people who take fruit cake making seriously. I must say that I have tasted just a few fruit cakes that I really like. 

BLACK FOREST CAKE

When it comes to food, being "old fashioned" is a good thing. New trends are churned daily but there are tried and tested classics that we keep turning back to. 

Chocoholics may beg to differ but I like my chocolate cake layered with other flavours. 

SWEET AND SOUR PORK

To most of us, sweet and sour pork is synonymous to Chinese food. I remember how it was always a part of family dinners at our favourite Chinese restaurant. The crispy pork pieces were topped with a perfectly balanced sweet and sour sauce mixed with crisp vegetables. It always comes as we expect it and never fails to satisfy. 

PININYAHANG MANOK (FILIPINO CHICKEN STEW WITH PINEAPPLE)

The week's dinner menu in my hometown of Marikina is very predictable and limited. When asked about the dinner plans, a Mom would usually say, "something with do". Most of the dishes have the syllable do as in asado, mechado, adobo, menudo. Most Moms' randomly pick any of those dishes when planning what to cook for dinner.

THAI STICKY RICE AND MANGO DESSERT

Sticky rice is enjoyed in the east as in the west. Although treated differently, they are usually made into comforting desserts. 

APRICOT AND ALMOND STUFFING

This is the stuff that great turkeys are made of. The debates are numerous, sometimes big and at times heated. What stuffing goes in the turkey? There are a million and one ideas but not all are good, unfortunately.

ALMOND JELLY

I still have to find out how almond extract smells unlike the almond nut. Nevertheless, I love almonds in both in forms. 

Almond jelly is one of the few desserts on the Chinese restaurant menu and the one that I like best. Slivers of soft set almond flavoured jelly is served with fruits and more almond flavouring. It is a very simple concoction, yet the taste is so perfect.

BANANA CREAM PIE

Bananas have been branded as boring by some. The lack of fruit choices, except for bananas, have been bemoaned too many times.

In fairness to bananas, I'd like to dispute the fact that they are boring. They are the perfect comfort fruit. Its custardy taste, creamy texture and non-acidic flavour is the perfect baby food, grown up snack or faddy eater bribe.

Bananas are a good standby fruit. They are friends with ice cream and peanut butter. If they go past their prime, then they can be made into pancakes or loafs. If by chance you find someone still unconvinced, surround it in rich custard and put it in a pie shell. Whip some cream and dollop on top to seal the deal. 

I am a bit OCD about bananas. I like them at a perfect stage of ripeness. I have to catch them at their peak, just as they emerge from being under ripe and before they go too soft and too sweet. This is when they are perfect for pie.

I like the traditional banana cream pie but I was thinking of a custard enriched with more egg yolks and condensed milk. I love using condensed milk because it gives a gooey texture and caramel like flavour to desserts. This dessert sets just so that when sliced it remains gooey.

Ingredients for the biscuit base:

1 1/2 c. of digestive biscuit (about 13 biscuits) or graham cracker crumbs 

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1/3 c. butter, melted

Instructions:

Tip: It is easier to take a cheesecake out of the pan if you put the base the wrong side up.

Line the bottom and sides of a spring form pan. Secure the paper to the pan with clips so that it doesn't move while filling.

The easiest way to make the crumbs is in a food processor. Add in the melted butter and sugar and give it a whizz to combine. 

Put the crumbs in the lined pan. Using the flat bottom of a measuring cup press the mixture firmly and evenly into the base.

Ingredients for the filling:

1/3 c. of plain flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tin of condensed milk
1 tin of evaporated milk
6 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsps. butter
4 ripe bananas, sliced into 1" thick chunks
1/3 c. whipping cream, whipped

Instructions:

Put the flour and salt together in a heavy pan. 

Mix the condensed and evaporated milk in a bowl together with the egg yolks.

Add this mixture a little bit at a time to the flour while whisking until a smooth lump free mixture is achieved.

Put the pan on low heat and cook the mixture while stirring. Cook until very thick and leaves a lasting trail when drizzled on itself. Add the butter and vanilla and blend in.

Transfer to a dish and cover with a piece of baking paper. Leave to cool until just warm.

Spoon about 1/3 of the filling into the prepare crust. Arrange half of the bananas on top of the custard. 

Repeat the layers ending with the custard. Swirl the top. Chill in the fridge. 

Top with the whipped cream just before serving.

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BLUE VELVET CAKE

Blue food is supposedly revolting. I remember hearing of an experiment where chicken was painted with blue food colouring. People who tried them found their taste off-putting and nothing like chicken at all.

I am a curious sort of person and, although I have never been good in science, I like doing experiments in my kitchen. The most popular post on this blog is the red velvet cake.  I like it so much and I believe that a good thing is worth repeating. Following the process of the red velvet cake recipe, I experimented on making a blue velvet cake: a velvet cake that's blue in both colour and flavour. 

EASY LIME CHEESECAKE

Whenever there is a special day coming, I feel pressured into doing something big to mark the occasion. I don't mean to be a snarky spoil sport but seeing adverts showing what we should do makes me feel railroaded into doing something I do not want to do. We all know that the noble meaning of the occasion is lost in marketing strategies.

It is Mother's day on Sunday and the second one for me this year (UK Mother's day is in March). The true meaning of the occasion is to appreciate Mums, what they do and the role they hold. It is not about buying something for her at all. Buying her an I ❤ MUM mug (again) is not the way to make her happy.

SRIRACHA CHICKEN WITH PINEAPPLE AND CUCUMBER SALSA

Sriracha has become a condiment embraced by everyone and sits at the table top  aside ketchup and mustard. Do you remember your first encounter with sriracha? 

FRENCH APPLE PIE

Baking apple pie has a lot of rewards. I like baking one on a grey, gloomy day. 

An apple pie is like free aromatherapy. I can't help but feel brighter once I start peeling the apples. The freshness of its scent just bring on the smiley face. The scent of lemons always bring visions of sunshine. Once I add the spices, I imagine a crackling fire. The heady scent of spices makes me feel warm inside.

BREAD AND FRUIT PUDDING WITH BUTTERSCOTCH SAUCE

"It's the season to be jolly." Bear that in mind. 

The frenetic activity to make the season jolly sometimes wear me down so I always have to remind myself to choose the easy route. Sometimes less is  more. Less fuss, more fun.

MINI TOAD-IN-A-HOLE WITH CRANBERRY AND ONION CHUTNEY

A Christmas table is not complete without ham, cheese and sausages. Here in England, small sausages called chipolatas are served with the Christmas turkey. They are also served with drinks and on canapés.

Toad-in-a-hole is a snack or appetizer which consists of sausages baked in yorkshire pudding batter. It usually comes with a caramelized onion gravy. What could be better? 

This is one of those kind of food that is for ordinary days as well as special occasions. It is easy to make and can be made ahead and re-heated before serving. 

ARROZ ALA CUBANA

Rice is so important to the Asian culture so much so that the Chinese greeting "Chifanle meiyou?" directly translates as "Have you eaten (rice) yet?". The concept of food revolves around rice and what can be eaten with it. In the Philippines, it is not uncommon to ask or be asked "Ano ang ulam ninyo?" which means "What  is your viand?" or "What are you eating with rice?". It is not a poking question but, since it is one of the most important daily concerns, people tend to talk about it, much like talking about the weather.

LEMON CURD AND BLUEBERRY CHEESE CAKE

One thing I would never tire of is cheese cake. I just crave for the stuff. I used to be hooked on a very dense and rich cheesecake that is sold by weight at our neighborhood Jewish bakeshop. It was so delicious and satisfying that all it took was a sliver to satisfy my cravings.

MELONADE

HSBC's advert with a pretty little girl behind a lemonade stand is so charming. Talk about pushy Moms (why are we always the bad guys?), but it is her Dad who makes her lemonade. It is so sweet that she is so business savvy. It is so sweet that she is multi-lingual at a very young age, such a good foundation for a future business mogul. It is fascinating that though the street is an ordinary residential area, it is the on the tour bus route. It is so clever that none of the neighbours have noticed the business opportunity except this cute little girl.

LIME AND MANGO CHICKEN

Umami is yummy. Simply defined as a meaty savoury taste but it actually comes from glutamate, one of the building blocks of proteins, not necessarily from meat. I know that that still doesn't explain much. But just think of it as extra yumminess. 

BANANA PUDDING TURON

Eating with our fingers is a primal instinct. We first learn about food by touching. By instinct we know how to make our fingers lead food into our mouths. Alas, when we learn the joys of eating with our fingers we are told not to do it.